<p>In Benin, TechnoServe and the visual intelligence platform Altei signed a partnership agreement to improve cashew farming practices through the use of aerial drone imagery and artificial intelligence (AI ) as part of the CajùLab project, funded by the Belgian cooperation agency Enabel and supported by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).</p> <p>As part of this partnership, cashew producers across Benin will benefit from high-tech drone, satellite and AI solutions to <em>ultimately</em> guarantee a sustainable increase in production through land assessment.</p> <p>Alteia will provide Technoserve with a turnkey digital solution to visualize drone imagery of cashew orchards and extract key agronomic indicators at tree level, the statement said. “ <em>The existing components of the Alteia Cloud platform will be leveraged, including data management and collaborative structure and standard analyzes such as number of trees, fraction of vegetation cover or height of plants. In addition to this, additional modules will be specifically developed by Alteia data scientists and refined to adapt to the characteristics of the cashew nut. These modules will include the identification of cashew species, density and health assessment as well as intercropping indicators.</em>», Specifies Lenaic Grignard, responsible for agriculture and forestry at Alteia.</p> <p>By mid-2021, more than 1,5O0 small cashew farms will be processed and analyzed. Cashew has become over the years Benin's second largest export product, representing around 17% of total exports and generating income for 200,000 farming families.</p>